League Cup changes announced ahead of 2026/2027 edition | OneFootball

The Subway Women’s League Cup will have a new name and a new format for the 2026/2027 season.

WSL Full-Time were informed of the news via an official press release from WSL Football this morning.

It has been revealed that the competition will now be known as the Subway Players Cup. Subway have agreed a new multi-year deal to remain the competition’s principle sponsor.

The format of the competition is also changing. The group stage will adopt a Swiss-style league phase containing regional fixtures. Clubs will play a minimum of six league phase matches, an increase on previous years.

The eight highest-ranked clubs will progress to the knockout phase which is similar to what has been played out previously.

In a controversial move, the three Barclays Women’s Super League clubs playing in Europe will not participate in the Subway Players Cup.

Following today’s announcement, Zarah Al-Kudcy, Chief Revenue Officer, WSL Football said “Subway have already proved themselves a valued partner of the League Cup and we have no doubt they will bring that same energy, creativity and commitment to the Players Cup.

“We wanted to create something that provided a platform to provide meaningful playing minutes for young and fringe players and to address disparity on playing opportunities across the leagues without compromising our player welfare principles in an increasingly busy women’s calendar. We‘ve spoken to a lot of people in the game about the direction we want to take, and we are confident that we have found a positive solution and that the Players Cup can become an exciting new domestic competition in England.”

The league phase draw will take place on Thursday 6 August 2026. The 2026/2027 Subway Players Cup final will be staged on the weekend of 13/14 March 2027.